Bermuda under tropical storm warning as Bertha nears

Published 5:30 am, Saturday, July 12, 2008

HAMILTON, BERMUDA — The Bermuda Weather Service has issued a tropical storm warning for the Atlantic island due to Hurricane Bertha.

The category 1 storm has been nearly stationary for hours. But the U.S. National Hurricane Center says it is expected to chug north at about 2 mph later Saturday.

A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the next 24 hours.

Surfers and swimmers remained in the water under sunny skies on Friday despite reports of stronger surf and rip currents along the southern coast.

"I'm not concerned at all," said John Wilson, a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who was vacationing in the capital of the wealthy British territory. "If you're going to be on an island during a hurricane, the best thing is to be in a hotel with a nice minibar. And I'm on the second floor, so the waves won't hit me!"

Early Saturday, Bertha's center was about 220 miles southeast of Bermuda. Forecasters said tropical storm conditions are possible on the island by late Saturday night.

Bertha had maximum sustained winds of about 90 mph with some higher gusting. The storm was barely moving but expected to chug north-northwest at about 5 mph later in the day, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The storm is expected to pass well east of Bermuda, although any inclination toward the west would create stronger winds. Bermuda will likely receive up to 2 inches of rain in the next two days.